Government Information

U.S. Government Access Policy for Federal Government Information

Location of Documents | Circulation | Materials in Storage | Interlibrary Borrowing and Interlibrary Loan | Materials on Reserve | Reference Assistance | Accessibility | Internet Use |

As a designated selective federal depository, the MIT Libraries make U.S. government publications available for the free use of the general public. The MIT Libraries support and adhere to the access policies outlined in Instructions to Depository Libraries, revised 2000, developed by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). Relevant portions of Chapter 7: Public Service are quoted here:

• "Identification may be requested of patrons, but cannot be required to use depository materials."
• "Depositories are not required to serve patrons who do not have a depository-related need to be in the library. Depository users must adhere to the same standards of behavior expected of other library patrons. Use of the depository collection cannot be used as a pretext to circumvent library policies or Title 44, USC, Chapter 19."
• "GPO recognizes legitimate security concerns of depository libraries and has permitted various methods for administrators to heighten security for their facilities and personnel. Permissible actions include asking users to sign a guest register, asking questions that screen users to make sure that the library has what they need, and even escorting users to the depository collection."

Location of Documents
The federal documents collection is housed in the various divisional and branch libraries, according to subject area. Many documents are cataloged, and the records are available in Barton, the MIT Libraries' catalog.

Circulation
Government documents are available for circulation under the same borrowing rules as all other materials. Most books will circulate for four weeks, with a maximum of three renewals. Borrowing periods for other materials vary according to the library. All materials may be used within the library.

Materials in Storage
Some less frequently used documents are stored in the Library Storage Annex, either on-site or off-site. All users may request items from either of these locations by using the Annex request form or asking at the any reference or circulation desk for assistance. Materials from storage can be delivered to the library of the user's choice within 1-2 working days.

Interlibrary Borrowing and Interlibrary Loan
If the MIT Libraries do not have a particular government document, we can obtain it from another library's collection for you through the use of MIT's Interlibrary Borrowing Service. This service is only available to members of the MIT community. Other users are encouraged to consult their home libraries for interlibrary borrowing. Documents in the MIT Libraries are generally available for Interlibrary Loan, meaning another library can borrow materials from MIT on a user's behalf.

Materials on Reserve
Some high use federal depository documents may be placed on Reserve in any of the Libraries and are available for in-library use to the general public. Circulation/Reserves staff may ask the borrower to leave an ID upon their borrowing of the material, but the borrower is NOT REQUIRED to show or leave an ID.

Reference Assistance

Accessibility
The MIT Libraries are accessible to the physically challenged. Special arrangements can be made to have books and journals retrieved from the shelves of any MIT Library by contacting the circulation desk of that library. More information on services for persons with disabilities is available.

Internet Use
Patrons wishing to access government information from the Internet are welcome to use any of the public workstations in the Libraries. Printers are available as well. The MIT Libraries support and adhere to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) Internet Use Policy Guidelines.

This page was last updated on 10/16/07